A Brief Glance at “The Boss Baby”

Published: Jun 12, 2018

By Samareh Khodarahmi

Introduction

The Boss Baby is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee and produced by DreamWorks Animation. Directed by Tom McGrath and written by Michael McCullers, the film stars the voices of Alec Baldwin as the title character, along with Miles Bakshi, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, and Tobey Maguire.

Plot Summary

Seven-year-old Tim Templeton suddenly finds his share of parental love plummeting when his new baby brother (Alec Baldwin) arrives — wearing a suit and toting a briefcase — and makes it clear to everyone that he’s in charge. But when Tim discovers that Boss Baby is on a secret mission, he reluctantly agrees to team up with his pint-sized sibling for an epic adventure that might just change the world!

The Screening

The Boss Baby was initially scheduled for release on March 18, 2016, but was later pushed back to March 31, 2017. The film premiered at the Miami Film Festival on March 12, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 31, 2017, by 20th Century Fox.

Feedbacks and Receptions

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Boss Baby has an approval rating of 52% based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Boss Baby's talented cast, glimmers of wit, and flashes of visual inventiveness can't make up for a thin premise and a disappointing willingness to settle for doody jokes." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those under 18 (who made up 41% of the attendance) gave it an "A+".

Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times praised Baldwin and the adult humor, saying: "The contrast between the helpless-infant stage of life and corporate-speak is funny but fairly high-concept for a kiddie movie, and the plot grows denser as it goes along and the baby and Tim reluctantly join forces to stop a conspiracy by which puppies would corner all the love in the world."

Box Office

The Boss Baby grossed $175 million in the United States and Canada and $352.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $527.9 million.

In North America, The Boss Baby opened alongside Ghost in the Shell and The Zookeeper's Wife and was initially projected to gross around $30 million from 3,773 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after grossing $1.5 million from Thursday night previews and $15.5 million on Friday, weekend projections were increased to $50 million. It ended up debuting to $50.2 million, finishing first at the box office. It remained atop the box office in its second weekend, grossing $26.3 million.

Even though compared to other well known works of Dreamworks and 2017 animations, “The Boss Baby” is somehow considered not as strong and influential, nevertheless, it is worth watching and thinking about.

Once again, the family and the unbreakable bond of brotherhood between two unlikely brothers is the main subject matter here. The fact that the family members do almost anything to save and protect the other members is once again reminded and emphasized in this animation. The story is told by Tim, the older brother who had a peaceful and great life before the arrival of a new comer. Tim was the king of the house and has everything he ever asked for. He couldn’t wish for anything else, but this wonderful life changed as soon as The Boss Baby steps foot into the house as the younger brother. He is on a mission to bring back the position of the babies which is gradually being taken by the puppies. On his path, he realizes that he needs the help of his “bigger brother” Tim. And Tim also understands that in order to restore his place and his position in the house, he needs to get rid of this new intruder. Their co-operation results in their understanding of a connection between them.

If we want to dig deeper into the film and look between the lines here, we can say that the film is also trying to, very smoothly and subtly, convey the meaning of flexibility. It tries to explain how it helps the children to become familiar with this concept to live their lives more easily and happily.

Unfortunately, “The Boss Baby” fails to attract the attention of the adult audience since they may have already been familiarized with these concepts, and the subject may seem boring to them. But it is quite suitable for children, especially because the characters are cute and funny, and the dialogues are short, to the point and understandable. It doesn’t employ a high technical quality, and to some extent, it can be considered a positive point, since too much technicality in an animation can cause the children to be confused and distracted.

Returning to the beautiful world of childhood, when nothing was more important and urgent than finding the right time and place to play with our siblings and friends, can create unforgettable moments for all those who watch this film. Watching these kinds of animations and going back to the age of innocence is truly a blessing which is given to us by no one other than the seventh art. It is the miracle of cinema no doubt!